Daughter of the Clan
by Leva
Summary: Dream sequence. Wrote it in 1995 for Avalon Mists.


"The Daughter of the Clan"  
-- Leva (leva@firefox.org)  
  
Author's Note: I finally found my old story disks -- been going through them slowly and found a few gargoyles things that haven't seen the light of day in awhile. This one's a bit of silly fluff. I wrote it in my Goliath-and-Demona-forever phase while the series was still airing. (I think this was written around "Vows" first airing.) This was in AvMists in 1995, but I don't think it's been archived anywhere else ... anyway, enjoy.   
  
  
  
967 AD  
Dreaming.  
  
The daughter of the clan recognised the balmy summer night immediately... it was one forever tucked into her her heart and her soul. It did not matter if she had lived a thousand years, or if she would live a thousand more... this night would always live in her dreams and her heart.  
Fireflies danced across the rolling grassy hills. Two young gargoyles were discovering one another.   
The daughter of the clan ran swiftly, laughter bubbling out of her throat. "Can't catch me!" She teased. "Catch me if you can!"   
Goliath protested, "Rookery sister, come back with that!"  
She had the message from Prince Malcom in one hand. Goliath had promised to take it to the Captain of the Guard. She ran from him, wings flying behind her, giggling.  
"I'm going to get you!" He sounded irritated, which was good. He needed teasing occasionally. He was far too serious!  
She looked over his shoulder, gauging his level of anger -- and tripped over a bush in the dark. She hit the earth chin-first.  
"Ahhh...!" She touched her chin; her fingers were smeared black in the moonlight. It wasn't a bad scrape, but it smarted.  
"Are you all right?" Goliath asked, breathless, as he caught up to her.  
Crossly, she responded, "I'll heal by the dawn."  
"Let me see." He cupped his hand under her jaw; he looked into her eyes. He was checking to see if her pupils were the same size -- but her heart thumped wildly. "You will live." He agreed. He pulled the scroll from her fingers and tucked it into his belt  
She pouted at him.  
He grinned and offered her a hand up. "There's a stream this way." He guided her in the direction of chuckling water.   
She washed her face in the creek; the bleeding had already stopped. Goliath knelt down to get a drink. She grabbed the scroll from his belt and pushed him into the water in the same motion.  
The water was only a few feet deep, but he went completely under. He came up, shaking the hair from his eyes "Rookery sister!" He protested.  
She grinned.  
He lunged swiftly forward and caught her ankle. She kicked and slapped him in the face with her tail, and dropped the scroll in favor of clawing at the earth, but he was a more powerful than she. He hauled her into the water with him and dunked her. Twice. Her red hair was plastered flat to her skull; she looked like a wet cat.  
"I didn't think you were the vengeful sort." She sniffed, having wriggled free.  
He laughed.  
She folded her arms and adopted a sulking attitude. It wasn't a very effective sulk, since she was still sitting chest-deep in icy water.  
A mischevious light appeared in his grave dark eyes. He cupped his hands and splashed her.  
She splashed back. With her wings.  
He spluttered, and grabbed her. He pinned her wings and dunked her a third time, then realised abruptly that he had a very...interesting...armful. A wet, breathlessly giggling, wriggling armful of female gargoyle...a very beautiful armful.  
They stared at each other, startled.   
Goliath let go of her abruptly. He turned away and clambered out of the stream.  
"Goliath..." She breathed, pursuing him.   
He turned to face her and spread his hands helplessly. "I did not mean to...to...to..." He stammered, turning the most *interesting* shade of lavender under the moon.  
She stopped very close to him, but not quite touching him. She couldn't find the courage... "It's okay." She said.  
He smiled, and held a hand out. "Fly with me?"  
She slipped her hand into his. "Yes."   
He reached down and picked up the scroll; he tucked it *very* carefully into his belt.  
They flew very swiftly to the human's camp, though they were not sure why they hurried. The daughter of the clan had odd feelings every time she glanced at the young male; he was so... he was astonishing. His dark hair played across the shoulders that were growing broader with every passing day; the muscles beneath his blue skin promised great power someday. She remembered the strength in his arms when he had held her, and shivered.  
"Having fun?" The Captain of the Guard commented, when two still-damp gargoyles landed in the camp. Demona's red hair, a source of great vanity for her, was hanging in her eyes. "Weather must be a bit capricious..."   
Goliath flushed again.  
The captain chuckled, "Aye, yer havin' fun, allright. Get on, then. Tell his highness that I'll have a full report to send tomorrow. Get on with ye."  
They fled his teasing. Once out of his sight and hearing, they exchanged amused glances. She giggled, and bolted, "Catch me!"  
She wasn't carrying the scroll this time, but he seemed as interested in catching her as before. She took to the air and led him on a merry chase over the countryside.  
Finally, he caught up with her and planted a hand between her wings. He knocked her tumbling. "You're it!"  
By the time she recovered, he was ahead of her by several lengths. She flew in pursuit, planted her hands on his shoulders and leapfrogged over his head.  
He laughed, "Enough!"  
She doubled back. "What? Tired, Goliath, already?"  
He reached out and touched her fingers with his. "Perhaps I just want to fly with you."  
"Goliath..." The daughter of the clan said. She glided very close to him, "Find a place to land.."  
He nodded. Wordlessly, Goliath set down on a cliff overlooking the ocean. "We are... not children anymore." He spoke slowly.  
She took a tiny step closer. "We are not."  
He took her hands into his own. "I love you."   
She looked up at him; at the dark eyes filled with patience and warmth and loyalty and...and, yes, love at the forefront. Here, she knew instinctively, was a love who would never leave her, never betray her, who would...who did love her.  
And she loved him.   
Oh, she'd had a crush on him for years. But this was differant. This was a warm, powerful, joyous feeling that clutched at her heart and sang in her ears.   
"I love you." She whispered back.  
His hands hesitantly, respectfully, moved to her shoulders.   
She shivered at his touch, and leaned into his embrace. She was equally hesitant... Her reaction encouraged him, and swiftly, his arms encircled her; more slowly, his wings rustled and settled around her back.   
She rested her head on his warm shoulder. A gentle hand ran hesitantly through her hair. "Oh, I love you." He whispered softly. "I swear to you here that I shall love you forever...I love you now and I love you forever."  
She leaned back and looked up at him. "Now and forever..." She echoed.   
He lowered his head, slowly, too slowly...  
The daughter of the clan was ripped away from that warm memory.  
Not again! She was so very tired of nightmares!  
She shivered. Alone. She was so very, very alone.  
She was imprisoned in ice. She was so cold, so terribly cold, so numb, so tired. So very tired. So angry. So sad. She felt as if she was being torn apart by grief...by anger...  
The ice was clear, and through it, she could see herself. And Goliath. His hands were running through her hair, now... their embrace was innocent, a bit awkward, and very inexperienced. Neither of them had ever kissed another before that night.  
And they never kissed anyone else after that night, either.  
Oh, they hadn't dared much. They'd kissed, for a while, and then they'd snuggled together on the cliff and watched the moon set. After all these years, she could still feel the warmth and weight of his arm around her waist as they'd sat, two innocents unsuspecting of their future.  
Such innocence. They'd been such innocents.   
The memory almost thawed the ice, just a little...  
But suddenly, as she watched, she disappeared from Goliath's arms.  
A human, tall and lithe and dark-haired, took Demona's place. She padded across the grassy clifftop to Goliath; Goliath held out a hand and pulled her down and into his arms. She settled easily into the shelter of his wings and arms. Goliath rested his chin on her shoulder and pointed out something in the stars; Elisa laughed and leaned back against him.  
Goliath had forgotten, forsaken his Angel of the Night for the human.  
"I love you." He said to the blasted human.  
She glanced back at him, grinned, and said, "I love you too, Goliath."  
The ice around the daughter of the clan shattered into a million razor-sharp shards that tore through her soul. 


End file.
